History 

Earthquake Science is the continuation of Acta Seismologica Sinica (English edition) and is sponsored by the Seismological Society of China. The Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration was added as a second sponsor in 2012. The current Editor-in-Chief (EiC) is Prof. Yun-tai Chen, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Before 2009, the Acta Seismologica Sinica (English edition) was translated from Acta Seismologica Sinica (Chinese edition). The first issue of the Chinese edition of the Acta Seismologica Sinica was published in 1979, and that of the English edition in 1988. In 2009, the title of the journal was changed into Earthquake Science, and its cover, size and format were all updated correspondingly. The new Earthquake Science only accepts and publishes original research results. In the five years since 2009, Earthquake Science has completely separated from Acta Seismology Sinica (Chinese edition) and became an independent English journal in the earthquake science field. In 2012, Earthquake Science received an award with corresponding funding from the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST). The CAST established this award to promote the international recognition and influence of an English journal in China by providing special funding for 3 years.

Aims & Scope 

The main topics published are as follows: (1) Results of scientific and technical research in seismology as well as papers in geophysics, tectonics and engineering related to earthquake studies; (2) Papers presenting differences of scientific points of views in the field of seismology; (3) The current status and significant advances in earthquake-related science; (4) Comments and discussions concerning seismology and earthquake studies. Four columns are presented in Earthquake Science: research papers, research notes, academic discussion and reviews. It is intended for those scientists, engineers, and teachers and students in universities and colleges engaged in seismology and geophysics in China and abroad.
          Earthquake Science has become an important core journal in seismology and geophysics in China. To provide information on important topics, several special issues are published each year. These special issues are organized by well-known specialists, such as Professors Yaolin Shi, Chunyong Wang, Xiaodong Song, Fenglin Niu, Jiadong Qian, Sidao Ni, Xiaofei Chen, Yongshun John Chen, etc. The topics of these special issues cover a wide range of seismological and geophysical research fields. In 2008, a disastrous earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 struck Wenchuan, Sichuan, China. More than nine hundred thousand people were killed or missing. This earthquake provided opportunities for seismologists to study the earthquake source process as well as many earthquake-related issues. Earthquake Science organized a timely special issue aimed at the hot-spot issues related to the Wenchuan earthquake.

Distinguishing Features 

Earthquake Science is the second English journal on seismology and geophysics founded in China and is now the only independent English journal whose publishing topic covers all seismology research fields and earthquake-related issues. 
          China is a country that experiences frequent and major earthquakes including those in Tangshan and Wenchuan. These provide seismologists with opportunities to better understand the Earth’s interior structure and dynamic process and other related issues, and thus reduce the disastrous effects of earthquakes on human populations. What is more, in recent years the China Earthquake Administration （CEA) has established several permanent and mobile seismic array in different active earthquake zones, which provide a large amount of data for studying the Earth and earthquake-related issues. Earthquake Science has published most of the excellent research papers on earthquakes that have occurred in China, many of which are still cited today. Earthquake Science publishes papers that cover all fields in seismology and earthquake-related topics.  

Editorial Board 

The Editorial Board of Earthquake Science is composed of 51 seismologists and geophysicists from several countries, including the USA, Japan, Australia, Iran, Canada, UK, Spain, and China. 43% of the members of the Editorial Board of Earthquake Science are from countries other than China. The EiC Prof. Yun-tai Chen is a renowned international seismologist. He received the Ho Leung Ho Lee (HLHL) Science and Technology Progress Award, 2000, and the American Geophysical Union (AGU) International Award, 2010. The EiC and Associate Editor, Prof. Yaolin Shi are Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. 

Editorial Process 

Since 2007, Earthquake Science has been co-published by Springer. Each manuscript submitted to the journal is peer reviewed by at least two reviewers, and then re-reviewed by an associate editor. The EiC makes the final decision based on the review comments and his own opinion. If the EiC is not satisfied with the comments from the reviewer(s), he will ask for a review by an additional reviewer. In order to ensure the highest quality of articles, we try to invite at least one international reviewer for each paper. To prevent plagiarism and duplicate publication, we use CrossCheck to make sure the manuscript is original.
          Since 2015, Earthquake Science become Open Access (OA) publication, which means that more seismologists and geophysicists will have access to the journal. The charge for OA publication is paid by the Earthquake Science Editorial Office. The Editorial Office also has a policy to support and attract the submission and publication of high-quality international papers in Earthquake Science, for example, by waiving the basic publication fees and English copy editing fees for those whose native language is not English. In addition, we are going to present awards to the best reviewers and authors each year to support and encourage them.

Authorship and Readership 

The journal is drawing more and more attention from seismologists and geophysicists worldwide, as shown by increasing submissions from countries other than China, such as US, Japan, Australia, Iran, India, Indonesia, Spain, Turkey, Canada, France, Russia, Italy, Greece, Colombia, Germany and others.